Ahtisaari Warns Un: Find Kosovo Solution or Risk Return to Violence

The UN envoy for Kosovo, Martti Ahtisaari, warned yesterday that if the UN Security Council failed to impose a solution for the contested province, it could lead to a return to violence there. Mr Ahtisaari has called for consultations, starting next Tuesday in Vienna, on his proposals to confer internationally supervised autonomy on Kosovo, a plan rejected by Serbia, which sees the province as the cradle of its culture. As of last night, Belgrade had not decided who, if anyone, should represent the country in Vienna.

The UN envoy said if anyone came up with "a brilliant idea" to bridge the divide in the course of those consultations, he would incorporate it. But he made it clear he held out little hope for concessions and said he was not prepared to allow the talks to go on after the end of the month.

After that, he said, the Security Council would have to impose a decision. "If the international community wants to solve the situation it has to be courageous enough to decide [Kosovo's] status, because the parties can't do it," Mr Ahtisaari told the Guardian.

Failure to act would lead to "a weakening of the security situation" and a possible withdrawal of Nato peacekeeping troops, he said. "If I was advising my government I would say to pull out." Under his plan, the Serb minority would be protected by Nato troops in a self-governing multi-ethnic democracy. The proposal does not use the word "independent", but Kosovo would have its "own, distinct, national symbols, including a flag, seal and anthem".

Russia, predicted to veto the Ahtisaari plan, appeared to alter its stance at the weekend when foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said a veto was by no means certain, sending a message to Belgrade which has so far counted on Russian support.